EIA – “Venezuela is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of crude oil. It has consistently been one of the largest exporters of crude oil in the Americas. As a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Venezuela is an important player in the global oil market. While production has… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: July 2014
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Report on NSA Surveillance
Report on the Surveillance Program Operated Pursuant to Sec7on 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Pre-Release July 2, 2014. “During the course of this study, it became clear to the Board that each program required a level of review that was best undertaken and presented to the public in a separate report. As such, the… Continue Reading
Could your mobile carrier be hiding third-party charges on your phone bill that you never authorized?
“The FTC says that T-Mobile charged consumers not only for regular phone services, but also for third party content – including monthly subscriptions for ringtones, wallpaper, horoscope texts, flirting tips, and celebrity gossip – that consumers neither knew about nor agreed to. According to the FTC, here’s how it happened: On the first page of the… Continue Reading
Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders (M3) Full Report
Via the U.S. Census – Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders, Full Report Release (XLS), Last Revised: July 2, 2014 Continue Reading
Understanding the U.S. National Innovation System
Robert D. Atkinson, President – Information Technology and Innovation Foundation “The conventional view of innovation is that it is something that just takes place idiosyncratically in “Silicon Valley garages” and R&D laboratories. But in fact, innovation in any nation is best understood as being embedded in a national innovation system (NIS). Just as innovation is more than… Continue Reading
The Future of Large Old Trees in Urban Landscapes
Le Roux DS, Ikin K, Lindenmayer DB, Manning AD, Gibbons P (2014) The Future of Large Old Trees in Urban Landscapes. PLoS ONE 9(6): e99403. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0099403 “Large old trees are disproportionate providers of structural elements (e.g. hollows, coarse woody debris), which are crucial habitat resources for many species. The decline of large old trees in… Continue Reading
Court gave NSA broad leeway in surveillance, documents show – WaPo
Washington Post, Ellen Nakashima and Barton Gellman: “Virtually no foreign government is off-limits for the National Security Agency, which has been authorized to intercept information “concerning” all but four countries, according to top-secret documents. The United States has long had broad no-spying arrangements with those four countries — Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — in a group… Continue Reading
Pew – 7 surprises about libraries in our surveys
Lee Raine – “The Pew Research Center’s studies about libraries and where they fit in the lives of their communities and patrons have uncovered some surprising facts about what Americans think of libraries and the way they use them. As librarians around the world are gathered in Las Vegas for the American Library Association’s annual conference, here… Continue Reading
FTC Releases 2014 Data Security Update, But Enforcement Questions Remain – EPIC
EPIC – “The Federal Trade Commission has released the 2014 Privacy and Data Security Update. The report is “an overview of the FTC’s enforcement, policy initiatives, and consumer outreach and business guidance in the areas of privacy and data security.” In the report, the FTC explains that “If a company violates an FTC order, the FTC… Continue Reading
Good Country website and the Good Country Index – a new way of looking at the world
Simon Anholt: “The idea of the Good Country Index is pretty simple: to measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away. Using a wide range of data from the U.N. and other international organisations, we’ve given each country a balance-sheet to show at a glance whether… Continue Reading
65+ in the United States: 2010
“A new report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau provides the latest, comprehensive look at the nation’s population aged 65 and older, comprising 40.3 million in 2010. The 65+ in the United States: 2010 report contains many findings about the 65-and-older population on topics such as socio-economic characteristics, size and growth, geographic distribution, and longevity and health.… Continue Reading
U.S. Breweries are Booming According to Census Bureau
Shipments Increased 33.6 Percent to $28 Billion: “The number of U.S. breweries more than doubled — from 398 to 869 — between 2007 and 2012, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released today from the 2012 Economic Census Industry Series. The breweries industry reported $28.3 billion in shipments in 2012, an increase of nearly 33.6… Continue Reading
